Limpbizkit
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Limp Bizkit (at one time spelled limpbizkit) is a five-piece American nu metal band. With Korn, they are often credited with the popularization of the genre. Frequently, the genre the band plays is referred to as rage rock, a genre specifically promoted by Viacom, (owner of the American music channel MTV), for the teenage audience. Their albums have sold over 14 million copies in the United States.
Current Line-Up
- Fred Durst - vocals
- Wes Borland - guitar
- Sam Rivers - bass
- John Otto - drums
- DJ Lethal - turntables, samples
Limp Bizkit consists of singer Fred Durst, bassist Sam Rivers, drummer John Otto, and turntablist/sampler player DJ Lethal. (Otto and Rivers are cousins). Guitarist Wes Borland, who was with them for their first three albums, and did the cover art for the last two, left in 2001. Borland was replaced by Mike Smith (formerly of the band Snot); however, in August 2004, Wes Borland returned to limpbizkit; Mike Smith left for unknown reasons.
The band is signed to Interscope Records.
Though Limp Bizkit have found major success and sold millions of records, critics have been divided about their music. Detractors (http://www.ihatefreddurst.com) have said the group are “cartoonish” [1] (http://www.jamshowbiz.com/JamMusicArtistsL/limpbizkit.html) and make “cotton candy music.” [2] (http://www.nme.com/news/11204.htm). Durst has been described by an online critic as "the worst frontman in the history of rock." [3] (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:6xsyxddb4olj~T1)
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Early History
Contrary to popular belief, Limp Bizkit were not named for the fraternity game "limp biscuit". They were named after the way a friend of the band described his brain after getting high. Limp Bizkit were formed in 1994 by Durst, Rivers, and Otto. They toured in and around their hometown of Jacksonville, Florida. About this time, they became friends with rap music's House of Pain, which included DJ Lethal. Soon after House of Pain broke up, DJ Lethal joined the band.
In 1996 they released a five song-EP featuring songs such as "Pollution" and "Sour". 1997 saw the release of their first full-length album Three Dollar Bill Y'all. The album had a slow start, and it wasn't until Limp Bizkit made an association with the band Korn that they made any progress. Due largely to their association with Korn, they were able to promote their music with appearances on MTV and The Family Values Tour as well as Ozzfest (where Borland's outlandish stage clothes made a memorable impression on fans). Their break-out single was a cover of George Michael’s hit “Faith”.
Significant Other
In 1999, Limp Bizkit released their second album, Significant Other. The first single “Nookie,” was a runaway hit.
The success of this single, however, would spawn the first of many scandals that would plague Limp Bizkit. It was rumored radio stations were offered payola to play “Nookie” multiple times (some stations played the songs three times in a row), and that this was a factor in the song’s success. Some radio disc jockeys claim Universal (the parent company of Interscope) were paying fifty dollars to programming directors every time “Nookie” was played. Limp Bizkit and Interscope have repeatedly denied this story however, and further note there is no evidence supporting such claims.
More scandal would follow in the same year. In the summer of 1999, Limp Bizkit played Woodstock '99. During their set fans begin to tear plywood from the walls of the stage and from the "tower" used by media outlets to cover the concert. There were also confirmed reports of multiple rapes and sexual assaults during the set. Tensions ran high and violence continued to occur, culminating in blazes and looting by the end of the show. Some concert goers claim singer Fred Durst had incited the violence. Fred Durst has stated that none of the comments he made that day were intended to cause violence. The issues was later addressed in the video for the single "Rearranged", which featuring the band being judged and "executed" for the Woodstock debacle.
Controversy soon started to overshadow their music. In that same year Fred Durst would become involved in feuds with Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, and with the band Slipknot. Marilyn Manson and Trent Reznor mocked Fred Durst in the Nine Inch Nails music video for “Starfuckers, Inc.” (also mocked in the video were Billy Corgan and Manson himself. The brunt of the mockery was, however, directed at Courtney Love).
Reznor later proclaimed "Limp Bizkit suck and everyone knows it". Fred Durst stated that Reznor should be careful, as Durst was very influential at Interscope Records (Reznor is also contracted to Interscope Records); this comment caused an uproar. People claimed Durst practiced "mafia" style business tactics. These accusations became more frequent after an associate of the band Taproot released a threatening message Durst had left on his answering machine. Durst claimed he was simply misunderstood and was not violent or negative. However, Durst later had a very bitter and almost violent feud with Scott Stapp of Creed.
The band again became mired in controversy in 2001 during a tour of Australia with the Big Day Out rock festival. At the Sydney concert, teenage girl Jessica Michalik was crushed to death by fans rushing the stage. It was claimed that Durst was urging the crowd on, or that he failed to attempt to calm the crowd.
Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water
2000 saw the release of Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water. The first two singles “My Generation” and “Rollin’” were released at the same time. Durst claimed this tactic would generate buzz for the album; his prediction was accurate, as both songs were hits. (A remix of “Rollin’” featured Method Man, Redman and DMX was a minor club hit). The album sold 1,055,256 copies in its first week, a record for a rock album. It has gone on to sell over 7 million copies.
The band supported the album with a headlining tour named Back To Basics. The tour was toted as bringing the fans closer to the bands, as the only thing separating the stage from the fans was a tall metal fence. Moreover, the tour was sponsored by Napster, so fans received free admission.
In 2001 Limp Bizkit seemed to be cracking at the seams. Borland was playing with his side project Big Dumb Face, and during interviews expressed dissatisfaction with Limp Bizkit. He was tired of the constant feuding, and furthermore, did not want to feud with or disparage Reznor, who Borland greatly admired. By the summer of 2001 he left Limp Bizkit. He told MTV news in an interview that Limp Bizkit were a "sell out band" and Fred Durst had become an egomaniac.
This was seen as a major blow: Borland was often cired as a vital creative force in the group, due in part to his eclecticism.
After Borland’s departure, Limp Bizkit held auditions for a new guitarist. Thousands of hopefuls lined up at record and guitar shops for a chance to audition. Limp Bizkit were criticized for requiring all guitarists to sign waivers giving Limp Bizkit ownership of any riffs or interesting guitar parts performed by those auditioning.
On March 7, 2003, Limp Bizkit would perform their first new material in two years live at WWE's Wrestlemania XIX. Not only that, Limp Bizkit had signed up for some live tours, despite lacking a guitarist. On March 26, Durst wrote in a post on the official website: "We are playing Wrestlemania this weekend. on the guitars will be head from KoRn and Mike Smith from SNOT. We've been working with Mike for a while. He's dope." Two days later, Durst confirmed via the band’s official website that Mike Smith would be the official guitarist.
Mike Smith then went on to tour with the band and help contribute to at least five songs on ‘’Results May Vary’’. Durst, Rivers Cuomo of Weezer, and a sound engineer known as Elvis also played guitar on the record.
Results May Vary
Results May Vary was released in October of 2003, with the group styling their name as limpbizkit. Although this album didn't match previous successes, it received gold certification in the United States, and reached number three on the Billboard Magazine charts. Critical response remained mixed, however; one reviewer stated that the record "suffers from an utter lack of form and direction" [4] (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:6xsyxddb4olj~T1) A cover version of The Who's Behind Blue Eyes was very successful on the radio charts, but no video or CD single was ever released for "Almost Over" due to Mike Smith leaving the band. No further singles are planned from "Results May Vary", due to Wes Borland returning to the band.
The Unquestionable Truth
During July of 2004 various rumours started circulating on the internet that Mike Smith had left Limp Bizkit, and that Wes Borland had been reported to have been jamming with the band. By July 8, theprp.com made an official report that Wes Borland was recording with the band in London; however this was still regarded only as a rumour right up until August 13 2004.
No official statement was released, but Limp Bizkit's website went offline, and was replaced by a webpage that displayed large photos of the band. Smith was absent, but Borland was there, jamming with the band with the date written underneath. Since then, on the 13th of every month new photos have been uploaded, still showing Borland in the band.
On the August 15, two days after showing Wes Borland jamming with the band on their official site, Fred Durst announced Mike Smith's departure from the band in an exclusive interview with thearmpit.net, stating "We are very content with Mike being gone. We are the type of people that stay true to our family and our instincts and at any moment will act on intuition as a whole. Mike wasn't the guy. We had fun playing with him, but always knew, in the back of our minds, that he wasn't where we needed him to be mentally."
With Borland back in the band, Limp Bizkit, having reverted to the old styling of their name, returned to the studio with producer Ross Robinson, who worked with them on Three Dollar Bill Y'all, to create a seven track EP titled The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1), which was released internationally on May 2, 2005. However, drummer John Otto only contributed to one track on the CD, due to going through some personal problems. Sammy Siegler provided the drums on the rest on the disc. A second EP, The Unquestionable Truth (part 2), also consisting of seven tracks, is planned for release in the next few months, and a DVD following the recording of these CDs is also expected.
Discography
- Three Dollar Bill Y'All, 1997 album #22 US
- "Counterfeit", 1997 single
- "Sour" 1997 single
- "Faith", 1998 single
- "Pollution", 1998 single
- Significant Other, 1999 album #1 US, #10 UK
- "Nookie", 1999 single
- "N 2 Gether Now", 1999 single
- "Re-Arranged", 2000 single
- "Break Stuff", 2000 single
- Chocolate Starfish And The Hotdog Flavored Water, 2000 album #1 US, #1 UK
- "Take A Look Around", 2000 single #3 UK
- "My Generation", 2000 single #15 UK
- "Rollin", 2001 single #1 UK
- "My Way", 2001 single #6 UK
- "Getcha Groove On", 2002 single
- "Boiler", 2002 single #18 UK
- New Old Songs (remix album), 2001 album #26 US
- Results May Vary, 2003 album #3 US, #7 UK
- "Eat You Alive", 2003 single #10 UK
- "Behind Blue Eyes", 2003 single #18 UK
- "Let Me Down", 2004 single (by KROQ only)
- "Almost Over", 2004 single
- The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1), 2005 album #24 US, #71 UK
- The 2005 single is still being determined.
External links
- Official site (http://www.limpbizkit.com)
- The Armpit.net - Limp Bizkit Fansite (http://www.thearmpit.net)
- I Hate Fred Durst (http://www.ihatefreddurst.com) - The Anti-Durst Movementbe:Limpbizkit
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